Air separator for comminuted tobacco



Dec. 23, 1941. o. E. ElssMANN A y 2,267,326

AIR.. s'EPARAToR FOR COMMINUTED ToBAcco f MATTORNEY.

Dec. 235 19241. o. E. ElssMANN AIRVSEPARATOR FOR COMMINUTED TOBACCO 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed March 51, 1938 Patented Dec. 23, 1941 Am SEPARATOR Fon coMmNU'rED TOBACCO f Oswald Erich Eissmann, Richmond, Va., assignor, by mesne assignments, to J. C. Muller N. V.,

Rotterdam, Netherlands Application March 31, 1938, Serial No. 199,126

3Clams. Cl. 209-136) l This invention relates to an automatic tobacco feeder with a separator, more particularly to a device for removing foreign matters and tobacco stems from material used in tobacco products, and has for its object to clean theA tobacco of foreign bodies and of any accumulated knots of tobacco, while the tobacco is being fed from a receiving hopper to the cigarette making machine.

The tobacco here involved is such as is used for the making of cigarettes.

The object of the invention is ito treat tobacco during its passage' from the receiving hopper to the cigarette machine, and to provide means for the separation of hard or foreign bodies, such as stems of tobacco leaves and slivers of wood which sometimes are found in cut tobacco, and at the same time to remove any knots of tobacco which are likely to accumulate when the ilne threads' of cigarette cut tobacco intermingle and become more or less knotted. with one another. 'I'his invention consists essentially of a feeder discharging into a chute, and of a suction channel or conduit communicating with the lower part of: the chute to draw from the chute the separated andy loose tobacco. By such drawing ofA tobacco from the 'chute, the heavier particles descend by gravity and separate'from the tobacco drawn by. induced air into the conduit. The heavier particles bounce 01T the conduit wall, and the separated and cleaned tobacco is drawn by induced air through the conduit to the feedhop'- pers of the cigarette making machine.

This, invention consists further of providing means whereby accumulated threads of tobacco which 'form into balls or knots are disintegrated 'rms invention consists further of modica@- tions, as shown in the various embodiments of the drawings, and the invention will be more iully described 'hereinafter and iinallypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure i is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line i-i oi Figure A2, seen in the direction or the arrows of one embodiment or the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure i.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a part of Figure i, having anadjustable slide to regulate the speed or torce of suction air.

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of a structure like that shown in Figure l', but having a tobacco separating means attached thereto to break up the knots or bunches of tobacco, the embodiment shown in Figure 4 corresponding more closely to the commercial form, while Figure l is drawn more or less diagrammatically for the purpose of clarifying thev operation of the invention.

Figure 5 shows a horizontal section of part of the structure shown in Figure 4, taken on line t 5 5 of Figure 4, seen in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section of the feed belt, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is fa vertical section, taken on line I--l of Figure 8, of a combined feed chute or hopper and disintegrator, adapted to form part Aof the structure of Figure 3 if desired, thereby omitting the hopper, feed apron and disintegrator shown'in Figure 4, and

Figure 8 shows a plan view of the staggered grids of Figure 7.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the feed 'belt I0 is supported and operated by means of pulleys -II land I2 upon the shafts I3 and I4, respectively, the beit I0 moving in the direction of the arrow I5,V and in a-'return direction as indicated by the arrow I6. At one end of thebelt I0, a hopper Il is provided which issupplied with the cut cigarette tobacco I'8, and which, due to the nature of the tobacco, sometimes has stem portions I9, wood slivers `2li, and knotted threads of tobacco 2i. The hopper Il is shown to show a feed device of known construction, and can be reg placed by any other type of device such as to is important to note that the side walls 23 areV parallel with each other and form a rectangle with the ena wan 24. The yfourth 'wan of the chute is'made up by the inclined wall 26, so that the tobacco dropped by the apron it falls upon the inclined wall 2t and is guided by said inclined wall along the side walls iii and the end wall 2t,

without any danger of having the tobacco threads form accumulated balls or knots on account of Vthe shape of the chute, as ciearlyseen also in Figure 2. After the tobacco has beendischarged from the apron III into the chute 22, it falls downireely and openly, and even at and below the point 2'| the tobacco remains loose, so that when it enters the channel 35 it is still free and nel 30 which has its end 3| terminating at the l inclined wall 26, and its other end portion 32 extending beyond the lower end of the inclined wall 28 to a position below the vertical wall 24.

- An orifice is formed between the lowermost edge 33 of the vertical wall 24.and the edge 34 of the extending lip portion 32 of the channel 30. The height and width of this orice, generally indicated by 35, that is, the area, determines the character of the air sucked in by the suction of the channel 30, since it is known that air under suction always follows the shortest line of travel. A suction action may be provided in the channel 30 by a suitable suction fan known and not shown. This suction action is indicated by the arrow 36, as also by the word suction printed in connection therewith. When the suction has been applied to the channel 30 the induced air entering the orifice 35 will cause the tobacco to flow from the chute 22 through the lower orice formed exterior to the contour line 38 and above 'the lip portion 32 of the channel 30. As the movement of the objects under suction action depends, on the one hand, upon the force of the shown in Figure 4 has a stationary member or board 45' supported by the frame of the machine immediately below the belt i0, so as to prevent any sagging of the belt I when loaded with tobacco. At the same time each oi' the lateral walls -46 has a triangular member 41 secured thereto, and these triangular members 41 are in turn covered by a layer 48 of flexible material, such as leather or canvas or the like, with downwardly extending lips 49. either in close proximity to the apron I0 or contacting therewith. The object of these triangular members 41, with their flexible material covers 48 and lips 49, is to keep the tobacco confined Within the width of the feed apron i0. These parts are clearly shown in Figure 6.

Immediately above the discharge end of the feed apron i0, a tobacco loosening and separating device or disintegrator is shown. This device is rotated by the shaft 50, having at its end a pulley 5i, which pulley has a belt 52 passing over the pulley 53 on the shaft i4 ofthe feed apron I0. The shaftl 50 has a hub portion 54 into which a large number of rods 55 are secured. Circumferentially considered in the embodiment shown in Figure 4, eight rods are shown, and considered longitudinally of shaft 5U, eleven rods are shown. These rods 55 are spaced longitudinally, as also circumferentlally, as shown. At about one-half to one-third of the length of these rods 55, when the salme are in a horisuction and, on the other hand, upon the weight of the objects, as the tobacco leaves the chute 22 the heavier parts thereof, such as stems I8 and perhaps the heavier slivers of wood 20, are not carried along by the suction air butA dropped from` the tobacco stream upon the inclined lip 32 `and bounce off therefrom, due to the angular position of the lip 32 in respect to the descending particles. Due to this angular incidence and its deflected angle, these particles I8 and 20 hop out of the channel 35 into a box placed to receive them. The other portions of the tobacco, consisting mainly of tobacco threads, and perhaps also including some knots, are not heavy enough to bounce oif the angular lip 32, and are drawn along by suction upwardly-through the channel 30.

In order to provide a variation of the area i of the 'orifice 35, a valve 40 is guided by wall 4| as shown in Figure 3. the -valve plate 45 being movable substantially parallel with the end wall 24. This plate 40 may be adjusted by suitable means such as thumb screws 42 (Figure 4)- or the like. or by frictional hold in the guide wall 4I, and the area oi' the orifice 35 as shown in Figure l can be regulated to a smaller size, as indicated by 35a in Figure 3.

The invention has been described in respect to the'separation of heavier particles from the tobacco feed by' an induction air iiow, with the heavier particles bouncing of! the inclined lip 82. The invention thus described nds its embodiment also in Figure 4. In order to remove the knots of tobacco or accumulations of threads from the tobacco stream flowing up theinduction channel 20. separating or disintegrating means are provided above the discharge end of the apron III in the embodiment shown lin Figure 4. The apron i9 in the embodiment'l zontal position, ,a vertical grid 56, extending at right angles to the'rods 55 when the same are in a horizontal position, is provided. This grid consists of a plurality of spaced bars, the spaces being sufficient to allow for the passage of the rods 55 with a certain amount of tobacco, and

Vthe grid, extending from its uppermost portion,

is placed to permit the rotary movements of the rods 55 therethrough and downwardly, so as to have its lower end come into the path of the tobacco stream on the feed apron IIJ. As the tobacco stream on the feed apron iii meets this barrier, it is necessarily moved upwardly in the direction of the arrows 58, and as the rods 55 rotate clockwise in the direction of the arrow 5I, the accumulated ilow of tobacco in front of the grid 55 is engaged by the rods and broken up and forced through the spaces between the grid 56; as itis forced through, the tobacco is thrown rain-like into the upper space of the chute portion 23, the finer parts of the tobacco remaining on or falling upon the apron I0 and this is conveyed by the apron to its discharge end into the chute 22. Certain of the smaller stems ofthe tobacco may pass here and there through the spaces of the grids, others are thrown upwardly in the direction of the arrow and descend as shown by the arrow 5i, and again perhaps partake of the upward movement, or pass through the grids; similarly the wood slivers 20. The knots of tobacco 2l, however, are disrupted by vthe action oi' the rods 55 through the grid 55.

and this disrupted or loosened tobacco is thrown into the chute portion 23. In consequence, the material in the chute 22 consists of well separated tobacco threads, and, unfortunately, of`

duced air, leave the tobacco stream and bounce on tliejylip 32 into the collecting box 39. i

The tobacco which is now conveyed by the channel 30 under the action of induced air, is free from such stems, slivers, and lknots or balls,

In the embodiment shown in r'igure 4 the oriflce 35h is smaller than the orifice 35 of Figure 1, having been regulated by lthe thumb screw 42 and the valve plate 40. The speed of the' sucthe shaft I4 and in consequence the belt shown i in dotted lines in Figure 4 and indicated by 12,

and which passes over the pulley 14 on the shaft 14a of the pulley, is connected with some suitable portion of the drive shaft in order to acand isV in an elcient condition to ircisupplied to the cigarette making machines.

centuate this brush at a higher rate of rotation' than shaft I4. This brush brushes oi from the apron l0 the finer adhering tobacco particles, and such particles, moving in the direc' tion of arrow 1I, provide the descending stream 13 which merges with the tobacco in the lower part of the chute 22 and is readily drawn along by the induction ow 36, as shown in tn; finer particles exhibited in theinterior of conduit 3Q, the latter particles traveling above the heavier particles as shown. As the induced air has` its greatest velocity along the shortest' distance of its flow, the greatest velocity of induced air in the conduit will be on a'line defined by the size of the opening h.

Y From the foregoing it will have been seen that .ne feed apron i0 is provided. by the feed hopper with tobacco containing various foreign bodies,

and that by the action of the induction channel uponv the lower end of the collecting chute, the heavier foreign bodies are permitted to separate from the tobacco stream and bounce ofi away from the stream, whereby only tobacco is forwarded to the cigarette making machine. It will also have been noted that in the forwarding of tobacco which contains accumulated par#- ticles of tobacco threads, means have been provided to disintegrate the same so'as to cause the tobacco traveling in the induction channel to be not alone free froml foreign bodies, butv also free from knots or balls of tobacco. 'I'he action of the machine is automatic, in the sense that when the tobacco is once fed to the chute, the tobacco is subjected to the induced air flow so as to remove the foreign bodies.

In Figure '1 is s hown a sectional view of a combined feed hopper or feeder and disintegrator. By'removing the hopper I1 and feed apron I0, with the shafts I3 and I4, from the structure shown in Figure 1, this combined hopper and dis'- integrator can be placed directly upon the chute 24, and thereby close the part indicated by 22. This hopper 30 receives the tobacco at 'its open end. Within this hopper 80, there are one or two grids. In the embodiment shown, there `are two grids, 32 and 83, each inclined downwardly towards the central part of the hopper. These grids have spaces between the bars thereof, as shown in Figures 5 and 8. Shafts 34 and 35 are 2o speed of this brush is higher than the speed of suitably supported in bearings (not shown) in the walls Vof the hopper, and these shafts have rods 36 like the `rods 55 in Figure 4 and Figure 5. The two inclined grids 82 and 83 are staggered in relationv to each other, and almost meet at their ends. Thus, by the operation of the disintegrating rods 86 forcing the .tobacco and its d isentangled or loosened knots through the grids, the loosened tobacco is sprinkled like rain into the chute. Of' course, the stem portions I3 and slivers 20 fall clown into the chute, and are thereafter treated withl the loosened tobacco in the manner hereinbefore described.

Tobacco for the particular use of cigarettes or cigarette making'machines has been described,

but it is clear that tobacco leaves may be treated in the same way, in that leaf tobacco stripped of the stems would be drawnV along by the suction air, whereas heavier stems or other foreign mat-A ter would drop by gravity and bounce out of the suction conduit. y

l The apparatus as described cooperates with the known cigarette making machines, and electrical or other means may be connected therewith,

operating in conjunction with the cigarette making machine, so that upon any stoppage of the cigarette making machine, the feeder of this improved apparatus may be stopped.

I have shown embodiments of my invention,

but I do not wish to be limited to the details thereof, as changes may be made therein without departing from-the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as new:

1. In an automatic device for removing heavier particles such` as tobacco stems and foreignv bodies from finely cut tobacco,A a chute having a rear vertical wall and an inclined-front wall converging towards `the lower end of the vertical wall to form an open-discharge' bottom, means for feeding tobacco indistributed form to the upper portion of said chute in a direction substantially at right angles to the vertical wall of said chute, said inclined wall directing the tobacco in the chute toward the loweriend of said vertical wall, a suction conduit connected to the i lower end of said chute and disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined and vertical walls of said chute, to receive the tobacco discharged from said chute, said suction conduit having an upper wall terminating at the inclined wall of the chute and a lower parallel wall ex tending across the discharge bottom of the chute in spaced relation theretoto form a lip portion, the free end of said lip portion terminating in line with said vertical wall of the chute and spaced below the lower end of said wall approximately the width of said suction conduit to form any air inlet opening, whereby the lighter tobacco is drawn into said suction conduit in a stream curving from the rear wall of said chute adjacent said discharge lbottom vto the lower wall of the conduit, and the heavier particles such as tobacco stems and foreign bodies separate from the stream oflighter tobacco particles and bounce off.

said lip portion of the conduit through saidopening, and means for regulating the size of said opening to control the grading of the tobacco.

2. In an automatic device for removing heavier particles such' as tobacco stems and foreign bodies from finely cut tobacco, a chute having a rear vertical wall and an inclined front wall converging towards the lower end of the vertical wall to form' an open discharge bottom, means for feeding-tobacco in distributed form tothe upper portion of said chute in a direction substantially at right angles to the vertical wall of said chute, said inclined wall directing the tobacco in the chute toward the lower end of said verf tical wall, a suction conduit connected to the lower end of said chute and disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined and vertical walls of said chute, to receive the tobacco discharged from said chute, sai-d suction conduit having an upper wall terminating at the inclined wall of the chute and aflower parallel wall extending across the discharge bottom of the chute in spaced relation thereto to form a lip portion, the free end of said lip portion terminating in line with said vertical wall of the chute and spaced below the lower end of said wall approximately the width of said suction conduit to form an inlet opening, whereby the lighter tobacco is drawn into said suction conduit in a stream curving from the rear wall of said chute adjacent said discharge bottom to the lower wall of the conduit, and the heavier particles such as tobacco stems and foreign bodies separate from the stream of lighter tobacco particles and bounce off said lip portion of the conduit through said opening, and a valve plate slidable on said rear vertical Wall for regulating the sizeof said opening to control the grading of the tobacco.

3. In an automatic device for removing heavier particles such as tobacco stems and foreign bodies from nely cut tobacco, a chute having a rear substantially vertical wall and an inclined front wall converging towards the lower end of the vertical wall to form an open discharge bottom, means for feeding tobacco in distributed form to the upper portion of said chute in a direction substantially at right angles to the verticalwall o'f said chute, said inclined wall directing the tobacco in the chute toward the lower end of said vertical wall, a suction conduit connected to the lower end of said chute and disposed at an acute angle with respect to the inclined ,and vertical walls of said chute, to receive the tobacco discharged from said chute, said suction cnduit having an upper wall terminating at the inclined wall of the chute and a lower substantially parallel wall extending across the discharge bottom of the chute in spaced relation thereto to form a lip portion, the free end of said lip portion terminating in line with said vertical wall of the chute and spaced below the lower end of said wall approximately the width of said suction conduit to form an air inlet opening, whereby the lighter tobacco is drawn into said suction conduit in a stream curving from the rear wall of said chute adjacent said discharge bottom to the lower Wall of the conduit, and the heavier particles such as tobacco stems and foreign bodies separate from the stream of lighter tobacco particles and bounce off said lip portion of the conduit through said opening.

OSWALD ERICH .EISSMANN. 

